Growing Sunflower – In summers, we are familiar with a beautiful big yellow plant known as a sunflower. It is heat-tolerant, pests resistant, and also this flower’s seeds are perfect for a snack.
Besides, the most fun thing to do with this plant is harvesting its seeds. Moreover, growing it in your garden would be the best thing to have since this heliotropic plant comes in many varieties.
Although most sunflowers are easy to grow, some special treatments are still important to apply. There are so many options to have while growing this plant, it all depends on your own choice.
Whether indoors or outdoors, on pots or in the corner of the yard, the sunflowers always look fascinating. Therefore, we provide some tips and inspirations to help you start to plant it.
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Growing Sunflower from Seed
Sunflowers always attract our attention with its bright petals and plenty of seeds. It can grow easily from seeds similar to other flowers. Whether big or small in size, this plant needs good nutrition and excellent treatments. Therefore, there are some steps that we should know before planting sunflowers from seed.
Before starting to plant the seed, decide on when is the perfect timing. Sunflowers take about 70 to 90 days to grow into a mature flower. These long days can cause us to grow the plant indoors and start to plant it about three weeks before the last frost date. However, the situation is different if you live in a warmer area where the growing season is longer. There will be more time to plant it directly to the ground and the sunflower seed is free from frost danger.
When you ready to plant the sunflower, take the chosen seeds and decide where you want to plant it. Additionally, planting the flower near the fence allow you to tie its big stem. If you plant it indoors, use pots or paper cups and put two seeds on each. Then, cover them with soil and water them regularly. Also, consider the distance on planting between one seed and another. It requires two and a half to three feet distance for giant sunflowers and one and a half to two feet for the regular ones. Lastly, keep it away from the animal disturbance by covering the plant with fences or plastic bottles.
Tips for Growing Sunflowers
Growing sunflowers provide some very basic planting steps, including planting the seeds, cover them with soil, and water them thoroughly. Nevertheless, these steps can be more helpful if we apply some more additional tips such as finding the right location and how to take care of it. Therefore, we provide several points of tips on how to grow sunflowers below.
1. Choose and prepare the planting location
Similar to its name, sunflowers grow best in a location with direct sunlight and protected from strong wind. It also needs a large and well-drained area since its roots are long and need to stretch out. Moreover, when preparing the soil, make sure it has pH 6.0 to 7.0 and contain nutrient-rich. Lastly, decide the right variety of sunflowers that you want to plant.
2. Plant from the seeds
Planting sunflower seeds directly to the soil is better to do after the danger of spring frost passed. Since some varieties of this flower can grow bigger, it is also essential to give rooms about thirty inches apart between one plant and another. Also, paying attention to the depth of the soil should not be left behind. Thus, plant the seed no more than one inch deep and apply light fertilizer to encourage the growth of strong roots and protect them from the wind.
3. Provide good care
Taking care of this plant can be started from watering its root. When the plant just started to grow, water its root zone about three to four inches from the sunflower. Then when it grows bigger, you can water it infrequently or if the weather is too dry, water it once a week with a lot of water. To fertilize the plant, feed the plant providently by adding diluted fertilizer into the water. Also, don’t forget to support the tall flower with bamboo stakes so that it won’t fall and well-organized.
4. Keep it away from pests and diseases
Sunflower seeds attract the attention of birds and squirrels. However, you can cover the seeds with white polyspun garden fleece to protect it from the animals’ disturbance. If you have deer or other similar animals, keep them at bay and use a tall wire as a barrier. Additionally, this plant can also be affected by fungal diseases. If you spot it early, you can spray it with garden fungicide.
Growing Sunflowers in Pots
There are some alternative spots for planting sunflowers, such as plant it directly to the ground or use pots instead. Since there are so many models and varieties of the pot, it will be helpful to use this planter for additional garden decoration. Here, we provide several pot recommendations for sunflowers. Thus, take a look at these examples on growing sunflowers in pots outdoors.
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Painted Couple Pots
Use your creativity by painting these cement pots. Since this yellow flower has light color, apply any colors that you like and the pots will help brighten your summertime.
Simply Elegant, Plain Ceramic Planter
Ceramic pot gives an elegant and simple look along with these small sunflowers. Besides, its design is perfect to put in a garden or as a home decoration.
Easy Shabby-Chic Container
Plastic pot might look too simple and ordinary. However, you can combine it with this shabby-chic wooden tray. It looks handy with handles on both sides so that you can move it easily when the season change.
Ivory Terracotta Pots
Planting sunflowers in these medium-sized terracotta pots provide an excellent view. These planters appear in ivory color and natural in design.
Rustic Wide Metal Tub
A small garden will look more alluring with this metal tub as a sunflower planter. It can contain plenty of sunflowers and other plants with its large size. Also, its material shows a natural rustic look.
Growing Mammoth Sunflowers
One of many types of sunflowers varieties is mammoth sunflower. Similar to its name, this plant grows in giant size. It can reach more than twelve feet tall and contains a lot of seeds that are perfect for snacks and bird feeders. Now, take a look at these look recommendations for growing mammoth sunflowers in your backyard.
The Perfect Garden Fence
Growing these giant sunflowers behind the garden fence is a perfect idea. Make sure the fence is shorter than the flowers so that the garden barrier looks fresh and fascinating.
The Backyard of Summer Vibes
Having this type of sunflower in your backyard will bring an excellent summer atmosphere. It blends well with other green plants and the flower yellow petal brings the whole summer vibes.
Picturesque Privacy Landscaping Backyard
Covering your porch with this giant plant allows you to create a private space outdoor. Also, its big size will protect your relaxing area from the blazing sun.
Natural Shades For The Garden
Adding shades in the garden can be created naturally by planting a group of mammoth sunflowers. It provides shelter if you want to stay out of the blazing sun.
Sunflowers Pergola Outdoor
Pergola is a separate space of the house that we can use for shelter and hiding from the burning sun. By adding sunflower to its surroundings, this area will look more fresh and natural.
Growing Dwarf Sunflowers
Unlike mammoth sunflowers, this one called dwarf because its size is smaller. However, it can also produce multiple flowers per stem just like the giant variety. Its small size makes the flower perfect to grow in a small pot whether indoors or outdoors. Therefore, here are several looks of dwarf sunflowers to inspire you.
Sunflowers Edging Garden
Planting dwarf sunflowers directly on the ground at the edge of the garden will add an appealing view. Besides, the garden will have plenty of empty rooms in the middle and it becomes well-arranged.
The Centerpiece of Flower Garden
Arranging dwarf sunflowers in the middle of a flower garden can create an attractive view. It will be perfect since its petal color is brighter than the others.
Small Bush with Vibrant Colors
Having a small bush with sunflowers is the best thing to have, especially if the flowers have several colors combination. It looks more varied with vibrant colors petals.
Garden’s Treasured View
Sitting and relaxing in the backyard will be perfect with a great view. Here, you can try to plant sunflower in a small flower garden to add a fresh and colorful look.
Lively Patio Garden
Planting dwarf sunflowers in pots is excellent for a patio garden. It looks refreshing and provides a natural decoration outdoors.
Growing Sunflowers Indoors
Commonly, we find most varieties of sunflowers grow outdoors, especially those that can reach a giant size. Moreover, there are also some types of sunflowers that can grow indoors too. We can also take some sunflowers and put them in a vase filled with water. It is perfect for house decoration and provides a natural atmosphere. Thus, we recommend these illustrations of growing sunflowers indoors for your house below.
French Style Sunflowers Arrangement
Arrange several types of flowers including sunflowers and daisy in one bucket. Then, put it near the window and you will find classic French style flowers that beautify your house.
Rustic Pot of Sunflowers and Ferns
If you have old and unused pots, why not try to use them as flower vases. Put some sunflowers and combine them with fern, then you will find a rustic and very satisfying result.
Timeless, Modest Clear Jar
A transparent glass jar allows us to see what’s inside it clearly. It looks amazing as a sunflower vase with a little decoration. To create a perfect view, you can put it on the table and let it face the sunlight.
Sunflowers Teapot Table Arrangement
Using a teapot as a sunflower vase is unique and attractive. Also, arrange it on the dining table could change your mood while looking at it at the first in the morning.
Garden Buffet Table Decoration
If you are having a garden party, sunflowers can be a beautiful buffet table decoration. Plant or arrange them near the buffet table and your party will look brighter and cheerful than before.
Conclusion
In brief, growing sunflowers is not a hard thing to do. If you choose the right seeds, follow the planting steps, and take care of the plant nicely, the result won’t disappoint you. Moreover, since this flower is annual, don’t forget to pay attention to the season while planting. Therefore, if you plant to have one, let’s prepare everything from now on before starting to plant sunflowers.
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